Consuming
by PrincessJordy
Summary: Set in Season 1, AU. Elena has given Stephen her blood to save his life and now he is the ripper. Damon will now do anything it takes to protect her, as they face the challenges ahead. What does that mean for Elena's future? Her and Stephen? And her and Damon? DELENA. Trying to add lots of fluff. :)
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place in season 1 going off canon, Elena has given Stephen some of her blood and now he has fallen on the wagon and become the ripper. This is a Delena story all the way! :) AU and OC don't really want to follow along with the plot, but I will to some extent but things are different now.

Hopefully you enjoy!

Elena Gilbert ran her hands through her hair as she attempted to go to sleep. _When had things become so complicated?_ As if having a vampire boyfriend for a first love wasn't hard enough, now he was on a bender. How could she not question her love for him when he was now a completely different person, the opposite of everything she had fallen in love with.

Elena thought back to the night she had given him her blood to save him, but somehow she ruined everything. She had found him with Damon's help, he had been storing dead bodies in the woods, a sloppy attempt to try to hold on to his old self and not lose Elena...a what she didn't know couldn't hurt her philosophy, but it had hurt her, more than anything she could of imagined. _"I'm not the person you fell in love with, Elena! Don't you get that! Leave me alone...I want to kill you right now..." _she had shivered at his words but held a strong defiant look on her face, _"i'm leaving town, i'm doing it for your own good before the ripper takes control of every last part of me." "Stephen, no we can help you, I love you! Please!" _she had begged, "_Elena, don't come after me, I will kill you. I will come back here after I kill you and I will kill your family, and I will enjoy it, because that's who I am now." _

Elena would do anything to protect her family, and now she didn't know what to do. She sank into her dreams, perhaps staying in Stephen's old room at the boarding house was not her best idea, but had felt out of place in the other rooms and Damon's bed wasn't an option she reminded herself. This was the bed she had spent the most time in afterall. However, it left her with the sinking feeling that she wasn't alone, it felt as if Stephen should have been right there, as if he would reach out for her any moment.

That's what was causing the nightmares. As she whimpered in her sleep and gasped waking herself up, Damon was already there, leaning in the doorway, watching her to make sure she was safe.

"Elena, you can have your pick of rooms, preferably one's that don't belong to my little brother..."

Elena sighed and ran her hands through her hair, Damon hadn't let her be alone since the night Stephen had told her he would kill her, it was Damon's theory that Stephen would be back at anytime. That's why he had given Elena ownership of the boarding house, no vampires were invited in expect for himself, the better to protect her. He had compelled Jenna and Jeremy to go far away, conniving Jenna that she needed a break and should be looking for new job opportunities out on the west coast, taking Jeremy along with her; Elena had really hated compelling them, it was against her very nature, but a more prominent part of her nature was to protect the people she loved. Damon stepped out of the doorframe and walked toward her.

"I just don't know what to do, Damon..." She let the thought trail off as he set next to her on the bed. When had she started to trust Damon more than anyone else in her life? Since when had Damon been the good one. But he was, he was a bad and good all wrapped into one person that anyone could be. She had no idea how to explain it, but somehow she had noticed that it was always Damon there when she needed help and somehow it was still him now helping her again, keeping her alive.

"I just wish there was something we could do to help him." Elena looked up at him and he couldn't help but be so drawn in by her big brown eyes, he would have promised her about anything had she asked.

"I know, I know..." he felt very much apart of this, it was he who had wanted Stephen to turn into this person, but he had wanted him to have self control, and Damon had never imagined they would have added a fragile human girl into the mix.

"You need sleep, Elena."

"Will you just stay here with me for a while?" She needed to feel safe.

"Sure," he smirked, as he set on the opposite side of the bed as she tucked herself in and curled up, "I'll give you good dreams, baby."


	2. Chapter 2

Damon tightened his grip on the glass of bourbon he had been drinking from, he silently cursed his brother in his head. Why had Stephen done this to him? Why? He wasn't a protector, he was a hunter...a killer...he growled to himself.

_You can't stop protecting her though..._He couldn't help but remind himself of this fact over and over again and was becoming insanely angry. He was not the type to be so concerned with a mere human. However, she was exquisite and as much as he hated to think about it he always was. Her beautiful laugh, and her strength even if she was so weak at times facing up against the supernatural, she still forced herself to be strong. He often thought she'd make one hell of a vampire, his dark princess, they would be evenly matched. There was something so beautiful about her humanity that he couldn't help but want to preserve it. _Damn it_, he cursed, he really needed to go for a hunt...

Elena rocked herself back and forth on her bed, she stared up and the ceiling and she huffed and puffed. This was her fate? To be doomed to hiding out in her ex boyfriend's bedroom until it was miraculously safe for her to go on with living her life?

Her phone started to buzz from the bedside table and she reached over to snatch it up surprising herself at her own eagerness. She really was bored.

"Hello?"

"Elena!" Caroline's high pitched voice sounded, "Where are you?! You haven't been to school in like a week...and Stephen isn't here either!"

Elena closed her eyes and swallowed hard, she was not ready for this conversation with her very delusional best friend.

"Look, I know you have this new found epic romance and all, and we're all just on the sidelines of the epic life of Elena Gilbert, but you can't both just ditch school to swap spit and play footsie all day!"

Elena almost laughed at the idea Caroline had in her head that her life was somehow perfect the only epic fairytale Elena was living was Rapunzel locked away in her tower waiting from someone to let her out.

"Care, Stephen's gone..." Elena whispered into the phone.

"Whaaaaaat?!" Caroline dragged the word out and shrieked it at the top of her lungs in only the way she could do.

"He's gone. I mean I don't really know. He's just gone. He's different now, and I don't know..." Elena had no idea how to explain this all to her best friend without letting on that there was something more to the story. How was she going to say _hey sorry to bother you but my boyfriend is a vampire who recently decided to go psycho killer and may be on his way to slaughter me and my entire family right now so could you drop my history homework off? _

Elena headed downstairs and plopped herself on the couch, it was late, and Damon had been out hunting, not that she was aware of that since he was very sneaky about it.

"I need to go back to school." She stated, looking at him.

"Like hell." He muttered as he sat himself in a chair across from her.

"Damon, I can't just sit around for the rest of my life waiting for Stephen to come kill me."

He knew she was right, but how could he protect her if she wasn't somewhere he knew she'd be safe?

"I've got connections, i'm just trying to find out where he is before I decide if it's safe or not to let you go back."

"You know where he is?" Elena sat up a little straighter, he hated to see the hopefulness in her eyes, was he angry or was he really just jealous?

"I have no clue, Elena. But I have to keep you safe, that's what Stephen really would have wanted and you have be tangled up in your little human life now and I've got an eternity more to live, so this gives me something to pass the time."

She rolled her eyes at his comment.

"I am going back to school on Monday," she stated matter-a-factly as she stood up then softly leaning over his chair she said, "thank you for keeping me safe."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there! Thanks to the few people who are reading so far! :) I would love to know what you think so please review if you have the time! Thanks all. I will start to add some drama to the story in this chapter, but I also want to just focus on Elena and Damon's relationship a little, sorry that it's a little slow on the action at the moment. **

Elena tossed and turned all Sunday night, she couldn't sleep. All she could do was imagine the idea of Stephen out there killing. Damon had solemnly explained to her why Stephen was called the ripper, she stopped him from his explanation she could imagine easily enough. She shuddered at the idea.

"Damon," she whispered just loud enough that he would be able to hear where ever he was in the house. The door creaked open almost instantly, "Elena," he moved slowly toward her and she couldn't help but admire his walk; he stepped with confidence and moved smoothly. She didn't have to say much as he sat next to her on the bed.

"You okay?" He asked softly, and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before, there was a softness and Elena cursed herself for noticing but it still caused her heart to skip a beat.

"I'm okay as I'll ever be."

Elena pulled on her jeans and a chevron sweater. She brushed out her shining long locks and took a deep breathe. This was the first time in several weeks she would be around people again...and it was the first time she'd be without Damon by her side to keep her safe. It had never crossed her mind that someday she might actually be relieved to being going to school and not having to see Stephen there. Stephen had been what she lived for in a time when she had nothing else, but it was kind of funny how now Damon was the one thing keeping her alive...

She took a deep breath before grabbing her bag and walking out of her bedroom door.

"Hey Elena! You're back!" Matt grinned as he stepped close to her. She felt a pang of guilt seeing Matt. He had lost so much, his sister and he had lost her. She knew he still loved her but she could never turn back. Wouldn't it be nice be nice if she could go back? _If only I could love him and let my life be normal _she wished to herself, but now that she knew about this supernatural world she could never go back to her old self.

"Hey Matt, yeah sorry I haven't been here in a while."

"Well that's okay, 'Lena, i'm just glad to have you back now." Matt linked their arms and walked with her into the school.

She knew this is exactly why she was willing to protect her friends at all cost.

One week, he had been able to keep her safe for one week since she had started going back to school. He had done everything in his power to keep her safe. He growled at the newspaper in his hand and tossed it across the room. _Fucking small towns, this wouldn't be news worthy if we were in a real city. _As soon as she read it she would be shattered. Going back to school had been great for her, she was somewhat normal again. Being with her friends, having something to live for. Maybe he could solve this before she even saw it.

"No one reads the paper anymore anyway..." his sarcastically muttered aloud. His hope was shattered as soon as he heard a car door slam and a rapid heartbeat headed to the front door.

Elena slammed the paper down in front of him.

"He's here." She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"It's only the two of us here actually, Elena." She frowned at him.

"Stop, this is serious!"

_Gruesome Murder in Neighboring City: two brutally murdered in their home, a young couple was found Thursday night who will remain unnamed, both were brutally attacked and beheaded and bled out and then set up at the dinner table like puppets. Police may be looking for a serial killer based on the sheer violence of the crime, nothing appears to be missing from the home. _

"Well sorry that I don't want to ruin a perfectly fine day by brooding."

"They're heads were set up on dinner plates, Damon, there's nothing fine about this."

He sighed but had to admit he was impressed with how she was handling this.

"It's Stephen isn't it?" her voice sounded broken. He suddenly felt the urge to hold her, to grab her and take her far away from all of this. He reached out his hand slowly and let himself touch her face. He was surprised when she didn't pull away, he let his thumb trace her cheek gently. Neither of them moved and she looked at him with surprise and uncertainty in her eyes and with that he let his hand drop and turned away walking out the door leaving her standing there.


End file.
